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Upcycled Spring Wall Hanging – Swap It Like It’s Hot 5

Next to Christmas, Swap It Like It’s Hot Week is my second-favorite time of the year! If you’re new to how it works, a bunch of bloggers head to their favorite thrift stores, pick out a few items that are crying out for a makeover, then ship them off to another blogger to be transformed into something new and useful! Out of the box full of thrifted goodies I received, I turned some of the contents into this upcycled Spring wall hanging.

I received a box full of interesting finds from Melissa at Polished Habitat. Here’s what she sent me:

Clockwise from top: some neat yarn, a wood game board, 2 metal trays and 5 old records. It’s quite a haul, isn’t it!?

I had ideas on what I wanted to do with each of these items, but I decided to tackle the records first and turn them into a Spring wall hanging. Here’s how I did it:

First, I gave three records a few light coats of spray paint until they were fully covered.

I found these pretty faux flowers and a set of adorable miniature birds’ nests at my local Michaels that I knew would be perfect for my Spring wall hanging.

I used hot glue to attach the faux flowers to two of the records, and the miniature nest to the third record.

Then I connected the records together with hot glue and white ribbon, and also made a loop out of the ribbon for hanging.

I don’t have much Spring decor, and I love how simple (and affordable) this transformation was!

Now, moving on to the other items I received… I didn’t have as much luck transforming these. The next item I tackled was one of the metal trays. My plan was to transform one into a pretty silver tray for my bathroom counter. But my makeover attempt quickly spiraled into a craft fail.

I have so-so luck with spray painting. I swear, there is some special trick I don’t know about! I was able to spray paint the records without incident, but the tray didn’t go so well… I used a primer first, which went fine, but when it came time to add a coat of metallic silver paint… let’s just say I got impatient and ended up with a nice big thumbprint on the tray! Whoops!

After a second, more successful coat of spray paint, I thought I was on the right track. My genius idea was to use the funky yarn as a stencil around the edge of the tray. I tried a test swatch on paper, which turned out pretty cool. But taping the yarn down to the curved edge of the tray? Not so much.

I charged ahead anyway, determined to channel my inner Tim Gunn and “make it work”. But as I pulled the yarn stencil up, the tape took a layer of silver spray paint with. The yarn stencil resulted in a rather splotchy mess in some spots, and the white craft paint I used didn’t show up as well as I’d hoped it would. Whomp-whommmp. So, now this tray is in my “craft fail” pile. But I am determined to tackle it again and make something of it in the long run!

I ran out of time before I could get to the wood game board, but I have a fun idea for it. And you can be sure if it works (and probably even if it doesn’t!), I’ll be sharing it with you when it’s ready 😉

Do you want to see what Tania from Run to Radiance did with this random assortment of stuff I sent to her?

You know you do! Head on over to her blog here to find out! Then be sure to click on through and visit all of the amazing bloggers sharing their Swap transformations this week:

I also want to send a big ol bear hug of thanks to Charlotte from Ciburbanity for all her hard work coordinating #SwapItLikeItsHot. I can’t believe we’re on Round 5! Here’s a look at what I created in previous rounds:

You would never even know those were records under that wall hanging…cute! And I honestly kinda liked the tray! XOChristy@ Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer recently posted…Garden Planter {Swap it Like it’s Hot}

I’m so sorry you had a hard time with all your efforts on the tray! I’m sure you will make something awesome of it. When I saw the pic of the wall hanging I never would have guessed they were records! So cute!Jillian recently posted…My Top 5 Spring Cleaning Ideas for Your Yard

Super creative! That would be a perfect spring door decoration! Don’t worry about the tray – we’ve all been there. I bet you could repaint it and do something fun with it.Karen @ Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza recently posted…Swap It Like It’s Hot – Vintage Chalkboard and More

Emily I think you did a great job with what you were given. I’m going through a yellow phase right now, that never happened before but I’m loving the yellow wall hanging that you put together. Very creative. As for your epic fail you can always use my trick and say that you like to revel in imperfection! Thank y ou for linking up to our first Sweet Inspiration party!Mary – The Boondocks Blog recently posted…The Long Overdue Fireplace Makeover ﻿Η Καθυστερημένη Ανακαίνιση του Τζακιού

Love the record wall hangings – so much fun! Too bad about the tray but maybe there’s a way to salvage it still… Your challenge sounds super fun. Visiting from Sweet Inspiration Party.Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled recently posted…How I Salvaged An Otherwise Toss Away Shirt

Wow, you came up with a great idea for those records! That was a tough one, I’m not sure I would’ve known what to make with them!! It turned out so cute with the pretty flowers and the little nest on them! Wall hangings are always great for decoration I find! Thank you for linking up at Sweet Inspiration Emily!!Katrin recently posted…Sweet Inspiration Link Party #1 WHOHOO!

I would have never guessed those were records, how clever! I always like to see a craft fail because it makes me feel better about the many craft fails I have had myself, we have all been there.Valerie recently posted…Mom’s Time Out Bag

Great idea and I love the idea of using repurposed records. Such a fun spring project. Sorry that your tray did not go as planned but I am sure you will find another way to get the look you want and it will be fabulous.Rachel recently posted…One Room Challenge Week 1 : The Making of a Man’s Office